


What Are The Odds?

by fictionalthirst



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternating Point of View, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Anonymous Sex, Blow Jobs, Dirty Talk, Food Issues, Hiding sexuality, M/M, Male OC - Freeform, Masturbation, Mutual Pining, Pining, Weight Issues, compulsory heterosexuality (discussed), compulsory parenthood (discussed), he's pretty inconsequential really but I needed to make up a dude, just general backstory stuff for Prompto, slightly less depressing AU, tagging for weight and food issues but not a major focus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:35:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25427776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalthirst/pseuds/fictionalthirst
Summary: N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:Hey, Gorgeous. Gotta admit, I’ve been looking through your photos all afternoon.N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:I got myself kinda pent up scrolling through, and I just had to message you.N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:Any chance I piqued your interest, too?MercuryRising:i’ve only seen your profile pic but damn (⊙_⊙)Prompto uses a new video "chatting" client to hook up with random citizens of Eos, to try to quell his crush on Gladio. His latest match is a nearly perfect facsimile for his crush.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum
Comments: 44
Kudos: 131





	1. Distraction

**Author's Note:**

> Set in a more domestic AU, Prompto is an exhausted college student living in Insomnia. Basically, everything is the same except there will be no tragedies, and it's a couple years before the road trip to get Noct hitched.

Prompto jumped as his phone chimed, a matching notification dinging on his computer screen only a second later. He had been so focused on editing his photos for the following day’s class that the sharp bell sound startled him with its abruptness.

It was a notification from ‘BateDateMasked, his new favorite video “chat” client.

‘BateDate was a relatively new popular web service for adults in long distance relationships across Eos, to bridge the distance and offer secure places to have more intimate video chats to fulfill their needs. At least that was the app store description. It was a client to let you masturbate with your partner from miles away. It slowly became a place where even random strangers would set up time with each other, and that demographic began to overtake the purposes of the original client.

That was when the Masked client was released. BDM took things a step further, for those wishing to engage in more varied matchups with individuals across the globe. There was a “random” feature that would pair you up with others that matched your list of likes, or one could simply scroll through the list of users and check their photos and list of preferences. The biggest draw was in the assurance that any encounter was guaranteed to be anonymous. The Masked client featured voice distortion as well as facial obfuscation software that blurred the details of the users’ appearance, should their entire face ever stray into the camera angle.

This was particularly enticing to Prompto for a couple of reasons. One, he was fairly well known for spending a lot of time with the Crown Prince of Lucis, so the anonymity was necessary for something of this nature. And two, Prompto was rather fond of quick, messy, safe encounters with strangers from the comfort of his own apartment. Which he was prone to do, his libido relatively high and his prospects low.

Prospects with the one person he really wanted to involve himself with, anyway.

Prompto groaned as he flipped to the neck-down profile image of the man that had pinged him; the guy was gorgeous. Perfect pecs straining in the confines of his skin-tight, long sleeved shirt, the hem drawn up over his tanned, washboard abs. One hand dipped below the hem of his shorts, cupping the considerable bulge beneath them, with just a hint of strong thighs showing in the dramatic downward angle of the camera.

Prompto could easily imagine long brown locks of hair swept around this man’s neck, the strong, stubbled jaw, amber eyes and a full mouth...

Was this okay, using anonymous, similarly-built men to sate Prompto’s lust for Gladio? Probably not. But was it better than making Gladio uncomfortable with his enormous crush, thereby ending any semblance of friendship that may have grown between them in the past year since they’d met? Prompto hoped it was, considering that he and Gladio were easily the most distant of any of the four of the group. He couldn’t afford to lose any traction he had gained with Noctis’s unattainable guardian.

Feeling a bit guilty, but not guilty enough, he put his phone to sleep and saved his work on his photos before closing out the editing program on his computer. He booted up the BDM desktop client and clicked on the notification again. There were a few messages waiting for him from the guy that had Liked him.

~~~~~  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Hey, Gorgeous. Gotta admit, I’ve been looking through your photos all afternoon.   
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** I got myself kinda pent up scrolling through, and when I hit that shot of you bent over on the bed, I just had to message you.  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Any chance I piqued your interest, too?  
 **MercuryRising:** i’ve only seen your profile pic but damn, i’m halfway hard already (⊙_⊙)  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Better catch up, I’ve been all the way there for at least ten minutes.  
 **MercuryRising:** yeah, i’d love to see that  
 **MercuryRising:** lemme just get my cam set up and we can do this ☆⌒(≧▽° )  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Great. Can’t wait to see you.  
~~~~~

Prompto angled his webcam, testing the angle in his streaming client to make sure it was set properly, the point of view just below his nose and down far enough to see his excitement jutting up under his loose boxers. He briefly groaned that he wasn’t wearing something a little more flattering than the thin tank and phoenix feather printed shorts, but he hadn’t been planning on anything more glamorous than sitting like a goblin while hyper scrutinizing his photos for the evening. Hopefully, Nine wouldn’t mind once they really got going.

He clicked the “‘Bate” button, and the client expanded, waiting for reciprocation on Nine’s end. It was barely a heartbeat before the screen deployed Nine’s camera footage. Prompto was greeted with a close, dimly lit shot of Nine’s gorgeous chest, wrapped once more in what looked like a black version of his profile picture’s shirt, but more enticingly, the frankly strenuous strain of his massive dick tenting the front of his purple boxer briefs with a large wet spot at the tip.

“Holy shit,” Prompto breathed. “Look at you.”

“See what you did to me?” The distorted voice replied. It was a bit of a shame that he couldn’t hear Nine’s real voice, but the anonymity was a double-edged sword that Prompto had to cope with. “Seriously, how did you manage to get that shot? Or did you have it taken by someone?”

“Tripod, remote, and some mood lighting,” Prompto explained. “But we’re not here to discuss my photographic prowess, are we?”

“Well, something should be said for it, if it could get me this rock hard,” Nine chuckled, reaching into the fly of his briefs to pull his enormous dick out. The material had just been holding him back, the released length of him even more impressive. Prompto’s mouth watered. Not for the first time, he wished that this particular encounter wasn’t remote.

“Fuck,” Prompto breathed, following suit by edging down the waistband of his shorts, letting them pool at his ankles as he widened the set of his thighs, gripping his cock. “I wish I could get that thing down my throat.”

“Me too, baby,” Nine said, pulling his foreskin back, exposing the swollen, dripping bulb. “I wanna shoot right down that pretty mouth of yours.”

Prompto groaned. He wasn’t going to last very long, but usually, that was the objective on BDM. “You’re making this real hard,” He gasped, tugging at his length slowly, trying to keep himself from spilling. He wasn’t usually _this_ quick, and he didn’t want to disappoint Nine.

“Isn’t that the point?” Nine chuckled again. “I’m gonna warn you, I’m not gonna go for much longer. I was already pretty close when you messaged me back.”

“I’m getting close, too,” Prompto admitted. “Just imagining you trying to fit that thing inside me-” He bit off a groan as the image flooded his mind.

“Fuck, baby,” Nine grunted, his hand moving faster on his own cock. “You think you could take this whole thing?”

“You’re gonna make me take it,” Prompto groaned, knowing he was done for. He began to match Nine’s pace, feeling the aching build of his orgasm gripping him. “Push my knees up to my chest and slam it home!”

Nine roared, a geyser of semen bursting from his cock in thick ropes, all over his hand a few drops on his shirt.

Prompto followed with a cry, his hips lifting from his chair as he thrust forward into his own hand, spilling on the floor in front of himself. He sunk back into the chair, gasping for breath, watching as Nine did the same, those gorgeous abs fighting for air as his member grew limp.

“Damn,” Nine laughed. “Honestly, I haven’t come that fast since I was sixteen. Sorry.”

“No worries,” Prompto sighed. “I didn’t fare any better. It was still awesome.”

“Good to hear,” Nine tucked himself back into his briefs and wiped his hand and shirt off with a nearby cloth. Prompto wished he’d been more prepared, but luckily the plastic mat on the carpet below his rolling office chair wouldn’t be hard to clean up.

“I’m totally favoriting you,” Prompto promised. “Maybe next time I’ll break out my good equipment and we can do a little re-creation of that picture you liked so much. I have a toy that is pretty close to your size, so you can see just how well I’d be able to take you.”

“Damn, don’t say shit like that,” Nine groaned. “I don’t think I have anything left in the tank to go again. You milked me dry.”

Prompto chuckled. “Next time,” He smiled.

“Hell yes,” Nine agreed. “Later, Gorgeous.”

The feed cut out, and Prompto relaxed. He really needed to get back to editing his photos for class, but he was bone-tired and blissed out, and decided to get up early instead. Maybe even skip First Period to finish up, since it was a forty minute Art History class and easily his least favorite subject. He shut down the client and turned off his monitor, slipping sleepily into his bed mere feet away, dragged under to thoughts of Nine and his amazing body.


	2. Concession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio has to make some accommodations for his preferences, given his familial and patriotic duties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see added tags for the fic as a whole: Gladio has familial expectations that interfere with his sexuality and there is a bit of discussion about them.

Gladio stepped into the diner, scanning for the guys, finding them near the back. He hated being late, knowing Noct would harass him for making them wait, but Gladio’s father had taken him aside after training that morning to deliver another lecture about taking his lineage, and its expansion, more seriously. He sighed. He was twenty one years old, just old enough to drink, not interested in fathering a child. What was his dad’s rush?

When he got to the table, Ignis was poring over a thin black book of photos, Noct was leaning on one hand tiredly, and Prompto - Gladio felt a jolt of excitement, as he did every time he saw the younger man - was fidgeting nervously in the booth next to Noct.

“Hey, guys,” Gladio greeted them, slipping into the seat once Ignis had scooted further in. “What’d I miss?”

“We ordered for you,” Noct replied, seemingly glaring at Gladio for delaying his lunch.

“Cool,” Gladio replied, unwilling to offer an apology. “What’s that?” He nudged Ignis’s elbow with his own.

“Prompto’s portfolio,” Ignis answered, elbowing Gladio right back, but in a controlled, dignified manner.

“It’s my final grade for the semester,” Prompto explained. He was clearly very nervous to hear Ignis’s appraisal, and it was downright cute. “I’ve been up late every night this week trying to get it together.”

“I’d say the effort was well worth it,” Ignis nodded, handing the book back to Prompto. “Your composition has certainly improved, as well as your eye for subject matter. Wherever did you take that shot of the falcon diving toward the songbird?”

“Near the Citadel, actually,” Prompto explained, opening his messenger bag to put the portfolio away.

“Hey,” Gladio interrupted, somewhat hurt that Prompto didn’t want to show off to him, too. “Don’t I get to look?”

“Huh?” Prompto blinked, freezing in action. He offered Gladio the book with an apologetic look. “Sorry, dude. Didn’t think you’d be interested.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Gladio muttered, not really wanting to know the answer. At best, Prompto thought he was a meathead, despite knowing each other for the past year or so. Gladio supposed he hadn’t spent much time getting better acquainted with Prompto, by design. The first day they were introduced, Gladio had nearly embarrassed himself by ogling him as he stood at the counter of the diner, taking far too long to admire his shock of blond hair, slim form and irresistible rounded ass. Then, Noct walked up to the young man at the counter and led him over to meet Gladio, the face just as enticing as the body, with pretty violet-blue eyes smiling up at him. Since then, he’d steered clear of any deeper familiarity with Prompto, despite their constant gatherings with Noct and Iggy. He wasn’t going to let his attraction complicate Noct’s friendship.

The conversation carried on pleasantly as Gladio surveyed the photos. Ignis was right; the shot of the falcon was clearly the best of the lot; dynamic, well composed, and beautifully lit by early morning light.

“You should put this one first,” Gladio suggested, tilting the book so that Prompto could see which picture he was talking about. “You always want to put your best work at the front, and this is definitely it.”

The three other guys blinked at him, Prompto in particular, his mouth slightly agape. 

“What?” Gladio asked, defensive. “I know things, sometimes. If you can believe it.”

“No one is saying you don’t know things, Gladio,” Ignis said, his brow raised in disbelief. “But why you would know anything about the composition of a photography portfolio is beyond even me.”

“I dated a graphic design student last year,” Gladio sighed, closing the book and handing it back to Prompto, who had, blessedly, finally shut his pretty mouth. “Same principle, I’d guess.”

“Yeah,” Prompto nodded, slipping the book into his bag. “That’s true. Thanks, Gladio.” Rather than disbelief, Prompto’s expression now held admiration. It was almost worse. Those eyes were a punishment from the gods, sent to destroy Gladio’s entire life and crumble his iron will. Well, maybe not, but it sure felt that way when they glittered up at him so pleasingly.

“So why’re you so late?” Noct just couldn’t let it go. “And why didn’t you text one of us?”

“My dad caught me at the end of training for another ‘lecture’,” Gladio said, using air quotes. “I didn’t think ten minutes was anything to write home about.”

“He’s still on about that, huh?” Noct nodded, accepting the explanation and finally dropping his irritation. He knew personally how difficult it was to have responsibilities due to his bloodline. Maybe Gladio’s weren’t as extreme, but he still sympathized. “Sounds like my old man. Not that it’s a problem, in my case.”

Prompto glanced curiously between Noct and Ignis’s nodding. “Okayyyyy, now what did _I_ miss?”

“Nothin-”

“Gladio’s dad wants him to get married,” Noct replied, ignoring the personal nature of the topic and Gladio’s truncated dismissal.

“To who?” Prompto asked, his eyes wide and brows cocked in disbelief.

“Any woman with a pulse, apparently,” Gladio answered, sitting back and folding his arms over his chest. “I have to carry on my bloodline, so Noct’s kids’ll have a Shield, too.”

“Your father is taking _your_ duty a bit too far,” Ignis said, surprisingly. “Iris could just as easily continue the family line, if her husband would be so inclined to take the Amicitia name. And I should think it would not be hard to persuade him, Iris can be quite forcible.”

“Yeah, Iris’d probably demand it outright,” Prompto laughed. “I wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of her. I’ve never been so intimidated by someone smaller than me.”

Gladio chuckled, nodding, though he was a bit sad that Prompto had confidence in his tiny sister’s ability to kick someone’s ass, but not in Gladio’s ability to be deeper than a puddle.

“That sucks, buddy,” Prompto added, compassionately. “‘Specially since you’re pretty young. Noct’s not gonna have his own kids for a while yet, right dude?”

“Right,” Noct agreed, a bit of a blush high on his cheeks. “I’m not even getting married for another couple of years.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Gladio waved a hand, trying to brush the conversation aside. “I told the old man that I’m still sowing my oats. He gets it. Did it himself, until His Majesty had settled down, too.”

“There ya go,” Prompto smiled, leaning back against the seat with an exaggerated shrug. “Just put him off until Noct and Luna get hitched.”

Gladio shifted in his seat and accidentally collided his boot with Prompto’s. “Ah, sorry,” He said, attempting to move his foot away.

Before he could, both of Prompto’s feet trapped his boot between them, a playful smile on his freckled face. “Gotcha!” With a laugh, he released Gladio just as the server arrived with their food.

Gladio wondered whether he had lost his mind, falling for this cheerful dork, and whether his thumping heart could take any more of that pleased face directed at him before it gave in and confessed that he would never be happy in a marriage of duty, when he’d prefer a marriage of love.

//~~*~~\\\

~~~~~  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** You around?  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** I was thinking about you earlier today. Wondering if you were ready to make good on that promise from last time.  
~~~~~

Gladio had begun using ‘BateDateMasked after hearing some of the Crownsguard chatting about it before training. The anonymity had appealed to him, giving him a place to engage with other men in a setting that would not get back to his father in any way, shape, or form. His duties to his family and his Prince had always been hammered into him from a young age, and despite Ignis’s assurance that afternoon, Gladio knew his father would not be very accepting should he find a life partner in someone who could not directly carry on the Amicitia bloodline.

MercuryRising was the first guy he’d had the confidence to message, after weeks of searching through the user list and scoping profile after profile. It was mostly because after seeing all of Merc’s photos, he couldn’t stop himself from pinging the guy.

Merc was perfect; soft skin covered in freckles, biteable thighs, that slim figure… Gladio could imagine picking him up and throwing him down on any surface to cover his pale skin in lovebites. Maybe it was the artistic angles and set up to the photos, but there was something about Merc that stirred a hunger in Gladio that had defeated his anxiety over being caught. It wasn’t hard to guess, really… the match for Prompto’s physique was obvious. Still, he hadn’t been disappointed, and he definitely wanted more.

Finally, the client chimed, his message answered.

~~~~~  
 **MercuryRising:** hey, yeah, sorry it’s been a few days, i’ve been real busy  
 **MercuryRising:** but i’d love to show you my toy, can you wait a few minutes while i set up my good rig? ♡ (￣З￣)  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Of course. I’ll just take another look at some of those photos of yours. There were a fair few that I really enjoyed.  
 **MercuryRising:** plz do ☆⌒(≧▽° )  
~~~~~

Gladio scanned through Merc’s photos as he waited, pausing first on the shot of him from the hips down, standing with his tiny underpants around his thighs and his pretty pink dick glistening with precome. The next really great one was of his spread legs, cock in hand, and a modest sized green dildo being held with the tip just pressing into his hole. 

He was already getting pretty worked up, and closed out the window so he would last at least a little longer than the other night. Finally, the client chimed, Merc’s response in the chat window.

~~~~~  
 **MercuryRising:** all set. i’m gonna start the chat and get on the bed.  
 **N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Excellent.  
~~~~~

Gladio clicked the video request, and was shown a slightly above-down shot of a rumpled, grey-sheeted bed, Merc’s lithe form posed on its surface, the camera showing from his knees on up to a wet-slicked fall of blond hair that was unobscured by the mosaic blurring his face. His pretty thighs were pressed together, his bikini-cut briefs barely containing his manhood, which seemed to be only slightly hard so far. Gladio wondered if he was wearing women’s underwear, given the colors and pattern. Regardless, it was flattering on his slim body. The tank top he wore this time was form fitting and showed just a sliver of hip bone between its hem and the top of his underwear.

“Hope you don’t mind if I’m a little muffled,” Merc said, his voice distortion not displaying any further obfuscation to Gladio’s notice. “I like to wear a small face mask in case the facial recognition craps out; sometimes it messes up because it allows for parts of the face to be seen as long as the whole isn’t in view of the camera.”

“Understandable,” Gladio answered, palming his somewhat embarrassingly hard dick, adjusting it away from the seam of his boxer briefs. “The video quality is amazing, I almost feel like I’m there with you, if not for the pixelation on your face.”

“I do some game streaming in my spare time,” Merc explained. “But that’s not sexy at all, so let’s just forget that part.”

Gladio laughed. “I dunno, having a passion is pretty sexy.” He didn’t think there was anything Merc could tell him to turn him off at the moment. He was almost worried he would come faster than last time. “I’m pretty keyed up from looking at those pictures again. And you wanted to show me something, right?”

“Definitely,” Merc purred. He rolled over onto his stomach, reaching behind the bed for something, and Gladio grunted in appreciation of the high rise of those underpants, Merc’s bubble-booty peeking out from underneath the material. “I didn’t know you were gonna message me tonight, but luckily I was fooling around in the shower a few minutes ago and coincidentally prepped myself a little bit, so it shouldn’t take long for me to be able to get this thing in my ass.”

Merc rolled back over and produced a toy that was, indeed, about the size of Gladio’s cock, as well as a bottle of lube. The toy was bright pink and sturdy-looking, though Gladio wondered how Merc was going to be able to angle his reach to shove the length inside himself. He supposed that Merc had somehow made it work in the past, and Gladio’s dick pulsed with the thought of it.

“What do ya think?” Merc asked, leaning closer to the camera, closing the view in on his chest and lower portion of his face, the dildo lovingly held against his cheek. “Is this about your size?”

“Pretty fucking close,” Gladio remarked. “I might be a little thicker than that, though. But it’s hard to tell with this camera angle.”

“Mmm,” Merc hummed. He slipped the face mask loop off one ear and the facial obfuscation allowed his mouth to be seen, his wet, pink tongue massaging over the slit of the toy, moaning as he slipped his whole mouth over the head and down even further.

“Gods,” Gladio groaned, pushing his cock into his fist at the same rate as Merc took the toy. He felt around for his lube, squeezing more than necessary onto his dick and hand as he stroked up when Merc eased off. “I really wish I was there with you, you gorgeous thing.”

“Me too,” Merc said, breathily. “But this guy’ll have to do.” He returned to the bed, facing away from the camera. Setting down the dildo, he pulled his panties down and let them drop to the floor, his freckled behind looking so damn squeezable as he kneeled on the bed to retrieve the lube.

Gladio knew he was going to have to quit pulling on his dick if he wanted to last through the whole show, but it took a lot of willpower to fist his hand in his sheets instead. For several minutes, he watched Merc push his fingers into himself as he angled his ass toward the camera, and Gladio wondered if he really streamed gaming or was secretly camming his way through college or something. After only a few minutes, Gladio was dripping and Merc had practically his whole hand up his ass.

“Baby, you’re killing me,” Gladio moaned, hoping that he’d finally, finally, start jamming the plastic stand-in for Gladio’s dick inside him.

“I just wanna make sure I can take you in one long stroke,” Merc said, gasping, and Gladio had to pinch the base of his dick to keep from coming instantly. He gritted his teeth, sucking in a hard breath through his nose while Merc grabbed the toy.

Pressing it to his hole, Merc propped the other end against the bed, using it as a surface to push the thing inside himself. As promised, he slowly, agonizingly, sunk down on his knees, moaning loudly until he was fully seated, his cries ending in a grunt of satisfaction.

Gladio didn’t want to be done already, but it was getting more and more difficult to stop himself from cranking his dick to completion as he stared at Merc’s ass split wide by a hot-pink version of it.

“Babe, I’m about to get off,” Gladio warned him. “But please, ride that thing as much as you can before I do.”

“Ahh,” Merc cried as he lifted himself off the toy, one hand holding it down as it slipped slowly from him. “Please, go slow at first, you’re so fucking big!”

“Oh, fuck-” Gladio couldn’t handle it anymore. He squeezed out another generous glob of lube over his hand and cock and began to fist it, trying his best to match the pace that Merc had set, until finally the smaller man was driving himself up and down the shaft at a punishing pace, his moans punctuated by small grunts on the downstroke.

“Come inside me,” Merc begged, and Gladio erupted with a choked off scream, shooting come and hitting himself in the face with a few drops. He barely heard Merc join him, but tried to watch with his eyes swimming from how hard he had clamped them down. It took several minutes for them both to regain their breath, Gladio too overstimulated to tuck himself back into his briefs and wet from navel to chin with his own spend.

“Fucking Six, that was incredible,” He breathed, finally gaining feeling in his limbs and face once again. “You’re amazing.”

“Glad you enjoyed yourself,” Merc had a smile in his voice.

“You didn’t?” Gladio asked, a bit embarrassed that he didn’t do more to get Merc off.

“Oh, I came _buckets,_ ” Merc answered, unabashedly. “But I’m gonna be sore as hell all day tomorrow, and it’s just a shame that it wasn’t really your cock that did it.”

“Yeah, I’m sad about that, too,” Gladio nodded. “You gonna be okay?”

“Of course,” Merc chirped. “It’s a good sore. I like being roughly handled. So no worries!”

“Great,” Gladio replied. He was getting very sleepy, between the hour of the night and the mind-blowing orgasm. “Message me later?”

“You bet, Big Guy,” Merc blew him a kiss and killed the feed.

Gladio powered down his computer and made his way to his bathroom, peeling off his shirt and underpants, throwing them into the hamper before wiping himself off with a warm washcloth. With heavy eyelids and a stumbling gait, he simply flopped down on his bed and fell asleep bare naked.


	3. Volition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto and Gladio are making plans. So are Nine and Merc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More new tags. Discussion of Prompto's weight issues and ongoing commitment to fitness, in relation to physical insecurities.

Prompto walked home from class very gingerly, his ass still sore from the rendezvous with Nine the night before. It had been one of the best chats he had ever had in the short three months he’d been using the ‘BateDateMasked service, but he almost hoped that he could broach the subject of making their “dates” non-anon. Still, he’d better make sure the guy was trustworthy before possibly meeting up, unless Nine would be okay with him wearing the face mask in person to preserve his identity? Even then, this was all assuming they both lived in Insomnia.

Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, startling him out of his musings, and he pulled the earbuds from his ears as he turned to his assailant.

“Jeeze, Gladio!” Prompto huffed out the tense breath he was holding on a laugh. “Man, you startled the shit out of me.”

“Sorry,” Gladio squeezed an apology with his broad hand still on Prompto’s shoulder. “Guess you couldn’t hear me. Or see me, for that matter. You passed me right by.”

“Did I?” Prompto blinked, shaking his head. “Sorry, lost in my own thoughts. What’s up?”

“I’m just coming back from work, saw you limping. You okay?”

Prompto hoped he wasn’t too red in the face. “Yeah, I just- it’s so stupid, I totally slipped and pulled a muscle in my thigh getting out of the shower this morning, it’s still kinda messed up.”

“You should do stretches right when you get out of bed in the morning,” Gladio advised. “Limber up your muscles. Helps wake you up, too.”

“Yeah, I usually stretch right before my run, but this morning I was a little tired and skipped it. Go figure, today’s the day I needed the extra flexibility.” Prompto self consciously pulled his slouchy beanie back onto his head a bit better. He really phoned in everything today - hair simply washed and not styled, glasses instead of contacts - and of course he had to run into his crush, while nursing a bad case of rough-fucked ass.

“You run, huh?” Gladio folded his arms over his chest, as if he were studying Prompto, which was, to say the least, uncomfortable. “What time?”

“Usually around six,” Prompto answered. “Ya know, the Gods’ Hour? I need a little extra help keeping fit, figure they might help me out.”

Gladio chuckled. “I usually go around five-thirty, since I gotta be at the Crownsguard training at six. Huh, come to think of it, we probably start around then for the same reason.”

Prompto chuckled, nodding in agreement. It was infuriating how attractive the man was. He realized that this was the most time they’d spent talking in… ever. It was great. Usually Gladio would grow a bit cold, or would have to leave for some reason or another. Prompto wondered what he could do or say to keep the vibe going.

“Wanna meet up tomorrow morning?” Prompto ventured. “I could probably get up a half hour earlier than usual. Probably.”

“How about an hour early?” Gladio asked. “Meet you at the fountain in the main square at five? We can run to the Citadel and have some breakfast in the kitchens before I gotta head to training.”

“Dude,” Prompto blinked. “I don’t know if I’m allowed in there.”

“What do you mean?” Gladio quirked an eyebrow at him. “I’ll get you in, obviously.”

“Oh my gods,” Prompto gasped. “Noct has told me how good the pancakes are. I’m gonna waste my whole run tomorrow.”

Gladio outright laughed. “Yeah, but you can treat yourself once in a while, can’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll have to skip my cheat night for our Friday movie hang this week,” Prompto pouted. “But it’ll be so worth it.”

“You’re really strict with yourself, huh?” Gladio commented, as if he wasn’t already annoying enough, with his perfect physique. Now he had to wheedle out Prompto’s insecurities with his own.

“I used to be heavy as a kid, and I’ve been working really hard to keep it off,” Prompto explained. “Ask Noct. I didn’t even let myself talk to him until I dropped the weight.”

“Whoa,” Gladio frowned. “Prom, that seems… kinda harsh. You’re a cool guy, and Noct doesn’t like people for their looks.”

“Says the giant hunk,” Prompto muttered, then flushed when he heard his own words. “Y-you and Ignis are both super good-looking. Noct, too, of course. But like, that’s neither here nor there.” He shifted his bag on his shoulder, nervously plowing through the conversation to get as far away from his thirsty comment as possible. “I just wasn’t confident back then. I’m a little better now. So I want to maintain that, if I can.”

Gladio looked stunned. Prompto was sure his plan for blowing past that comment was totally busted.

“Damn, Prom,” Gladio said, using that nickname for the second time ever. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I just want you to know that we all like you for you. You can have fun sometimes, I promise.”

Prompto felt a quick rush of relief that they’d moved past his near confession of attraction, but was replaced with a tremor in his limbs as Gladio looked down at him, face concerned. “It’s cool, sorry for overreacting. I just feel like if I give myself slack, I’ll slip back into bad habits.”

“I get it,” Gladio nodded. “And I’m sorry. Really. Obviously you know your limits and your goals. It’s pretty damn cool of you.”

Prompto thought he might combust with the praise. “Th-thanks.”

“Tomorrow morning, then?” Gladio asked with an attentive tilt of his head. It felt a little like he was pitying him, but Prompto appreciated Gladio’s concern.

“See you at five!”

//~*~\\\

~~~~~  
**MercuryRising:** hey hot stuff  
**MercuryRising:** you up? (￢‿￢ )  
~~~~~

Prompto probably should be in bed, considering his five a.m. running date with Gladio, but the rest of the evening had been non-stop reminders of his insecurity with his body and he wanted to feel desirable, so of course he turned to Nine for that. They’d only chatted twice, but it was enough for Prompto to hope for more, and he even further considered trying to feel Nine out about meeting in person.

A few minutes later, his chat window pinged.

~~~~~  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Sorry, I was afk. I am up, but I shouldn’t be. Early start tomorrow.  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Though I could probably be persuaded to deal with a little sleep-deprivation. ;)  
**MercuryRising:** same  
**MercuryRising:** except i CANT sleep, even if i wanted to (￣︿￣)  
**MercuryRising:** too many thoughts. care to distract me?  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Of course. What do you have in mind?  
**MercuryRising:** lemme see that DICK  
**MercuryRising:** and maybe those pecs, too?  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** No can do on the pecs, babe. I’ve got tons of tattoos and I’m trying to keep this as anonymous as possible.  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** But dick I can do.  
~~~~~

Prompto clicked the button to accept the video chat, and was met with the same view of tight-shirt-clad muscles and this time, teal boxer briefs concealing an impressive soft bulge of cock. 

“So tell me,” Nine started, “What do you wanna do with my dick?”

“Mmmm,” Prompto hummed with hunger. “Everything. Mostly I want it in my ass, but I’m still sore from last night.”

“I bet,” Nine replied. “You rode that thing like you were trying to break it. It was hot as fuck.”

Prompto plucked at his nipple under his shirt, angling his hips a little as his cock began to swell. “I’d also settle for drooling all over it before you push my head down and make me choke on it a little. But alas, you’re over there, and I’m over here.”

“Mmn,” Nine grunted, his manhood beginning to fill under the blue-green fabric. A broad hand cupped his balls, squeezing them lightly as his member slowly rose to full hardness. “You’ve got a way with words, you know. What other filthy shit can you think of to do with this?”

“I guess if I can’t take that monster inside me,” Prompto smiled devilishly, “You could just ride my ass cheeks until you blow across my back. Or tease my hole with the head, until you push my thighs together around your length and spend all over them.”

“Astrals,” Nine groaned. “I like how you think.”

“What do you wanna do to me with it?” Prompto asked, not getting off so much on his own dirty talk. Even though he was apparently getting the job done for Nine.

“Everything you said already,” Nine chuckled. “But I also wanna taste that pretty cock of yours. Suck you down while I shove some fingers into you, scissor you open. Then jam my tongue inside until you come in my hair.”

Prompto drew his underwear aside and spread his legs, moaning as he slipped a finger over the slit before gripping himself firmly. “Don’t stop,” He begged.

“I wanna bite those soft thighs,” Nine continued, gasping for breath as he fucked his own hand. “Mark up your chest and your neck, so everyone knows what you did tonight. Put matching marks on your back and your ass that no one else but me will see.”

Damn, all of that was hitting his sweet spot. The juxtaposition of showing off Nine’s work and the possessive secrecy of the other markings were thrilling up Prompto’s spine. Imagining the stares of his classmates at the marks on his neck, and the smug knowledge that they weren’t the only ones. Gods, if only they could actually meet up and make these dreams reality.

“Fuck, I wish you were here,” Nine suddenly growled, his hand leaving his leaking member in frustration. “I want _your_ hand on my dick, your thighs around my waist, your mouth on mine.”

“Me, too,” Prompto breathed, letting his arousal free of his grip. “I wanna taste you, for real.”

“Shit,” Nine said, leaning forward, his strong, stubbled chin and soft, full lips in the frame of the camera for the first time. “Do you wanna meet? Is that a thing people do on here?”

Prompto’s heart skipped a beat, the pulse throbbing through his dick. “Yeah, sometimes, and yeah, I really fucking want to. Are you in Insomnia? Please tell me you are.”

“Yeah, I am,” Nine seemed to chew on the decision, jaw working as he fidgeted, folding his hands together and playing with his thumbs.

“We’d have to take precautions,” Nine said, pressing his hands to his strong thighs. “I really don’t want to be weird about this, but I can’t let this get out to my employer.”

“I understand,” Prompto nodded. “I’m not really in a position to be outed about this either.”

“Okay,” Nine nodded back. “We’ll wear face masks, like that one you wore last night. And no talking. Since we’ll finally be together we won’t need to talk, we’ll just do. I have to keep my shirt on. Anything else for you?”

“Not that I can think of,” Prompto answered. “When?”

“I’d come over there right now if I could walk,” Nine laughed. “But no. Let’s rent a room somewhere, neutral ground. Tomorrow night?”

“Sounds great,” Prompto answered, even though his bank account was sure to suffer the added expense. It would be more than worth it.

“I’ll book the room,” Nine answered. “I’ll message you where and when.”

“We’re still gonna get off tonight, though, right?” Prompto begged.

“Babe, there is no way I could leave without getting off with you first,” Nine gripped himself again, smoothing up and down his slickened shaft and over the bulb of the head, thumbing the slit. “Now tell me again how you’re gonna spread yourself open for me so I can rim you.”

Prompto came with no warning, a sharp cry on his lips as it startled him, his spend splattering all over his thigh and hand.

“Shit, sorry,” Prompto said, leaning back in his chair.

“Oh, baby, don’t apologize,” Nine purred. “I hope to see you do that at least three times tomorrow night. Will your ass be ready by then?”

“For sure,” Prompto promised. “I’ll even get myself prepared for you so you can spin me around and fuck me against the door of the room when I get there.”

“Nnng,” Nine groaned. “As much as I’d love to spend an hour opening you up with my fingers and my mouth, that sounds pretty fantastic, too.”

“Maybe I’ll bring my toy so you can shove it in me after you’ve come inside,” Prompto offered. “Keep me open for you while I get you back up and ready. That way you can fill my ass and my throat at the same time.”

Nine came, furiously, his hand trying to block the spray of come as he released, coating his hand in the thick fluid. 

After he regained his faculties, he breathed, “You are something else, do you know that? How are you single? I mean, I’m assuming you are.”

“I am, and I don’t really put myself out there,” Prompto shrugged. “For the same reason we’re doing the anonymous thing.”

“It’s a shame,” Nine said, lazily putting his cock away. “If I were in a different position, I’d-” He stopped himself, leaning forward into the camera. “Shit, sorry, that was out of left field, I’m not trying to-”

“No, I feel the same,” Prompto said, truthfully. He barely knew this man, but he wanted to. They were so sexually compatible it would be strange if they couldn’t get along in real life. And maybe this would finally kill the stupid infatuation he had with the man he could never be with. Either way, it really sucked that they were both unable to shed the anonymity.

“Tomorrow night?” Nine asked, as if he was still afraid he’d blown it.

“Absolutely.”


	4. Deviation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a pleasant but exhausting morning, things go awry for Gladio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued discussion of Prompto's weight loss backstory and its continued application to his current life.

Four-thirty in the morning was a bitch to face when Gladio had not gone to bed until one. After another amazing orgasm, no less. He was drained. Merc was going to absolutely kill him. The dude was an Incubus.

Gladio pulled on his running gear; deep purple sweatpants close-cuffed at the knee with a tight black tank top. He checked the temperature and grabbed a zip-up hoodie to combat the chill of the morning before grabbing his badge, phone, wallet and keys and slipping out the door to meet Prompto on time.

Once he had finally let himself relax around Prompto, he’d discovered there was even more to like about him than just looks. He was fun, upbeat, talented and athletic. Gladio was in kind of a stuck-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place scenario, but in the end, he supposed that knowing Prompto better was preferable to keeping him at arm's length to try to suppress his attraction. Maybe, just maybe, he would find something annoying about the beautiful blond, and it would break the spell. Maybe.

Or maybe his date later that evening would do the trick. He could only hope.

Gladio reached the fountain right at five a.m. to find a dozing Prompto sitting at the edge, head nodding with fatigue. He tried to make his steps heavier so that he wouldn’t startle the man, and it seemed to work, as the blond head straightened and he tiredly pulled himself to standing with a muffled greeting. 

Prompto was a sight, even when sleepy. He had tight fitting knee length spandex on underneath a pair of loose, _extremely_ short neon yellow gym shorts, topped with a thin, patterned tank in a riot of colors that hung loosely from his shoulders, the arms open far enough to show a hint of nipple if he stretched in just the right way. His hair was once again unstyled, but the longer front strands were tied back from his face in a tiny topknot that was as cute as the rest of him was enticing.

“Long night?” Gladio asked, feeling much the same. He should have brought them both an energy drink, but after their discussion yesterday, he thought maybe Prompto wouldn’t want the empty calories.

“Yeah, I didn’t even go to sleep,” Prompto said, stretching his arms back and forth across his chest. Gladio followed suit, balancing on one foot while he grabbed the opposite ankle and stretched his thigh. “You don’t look great yourself.”

“Thanks,” Gladio said, sarcastically. He continued to stretch.

“No, I mean-”

“Relax, Prom, I know, I was just kidding.”

Once they’d limbered up, they began to jog lightly, only breaking into a full run for a minute at a time before slowing their pace again. For twenty minutes they alternated pace, and finally, they reached the Citadel. Gladio swiped his badge at the gate, confirmed that he had one guest, and they were met at the doors for a pat-down by two of Gladio’s fellow Crownsguard, Gareth and Lynz.

“Mornin’ fellas,” Gladio greeted them, not really feeling the sentiment. They barely pat him down, merely performing their duty to the bare minimum necessary with their very familiar co-worker. Prompto did receive the proper attention, but he had so little clothing there was almost no way to hide anything on himself. He handed over his small shoulder bag to be searched - filled with wallet, phone and keys, and not much else. Gladio, for a moment, felt envious of Gareth’s position, but dismissed it as creepy and had the sense to move on from that thought.

“This is Prompto Argentum, the Prince’s friend that you’ve probably heard about,” Gladio introduced him to the young guards. “We’re gonna have some breakfast in the kitchens and then I’ll send him on his way before I head to training.”

“See you in a half-hour,” Gareth said cheerfully. Gladio wanted to groan. Morning people were the worst.

“Later, guys,” Gladio motioned for Prompto to follow, and he did, slinging his bag back across his chest.

Gladio watched as Prompto took in the interior of the Citadel, having never been inside before. Huge, imposing, black gothic architecture, loads of paintings of the Hexatheon. It was really beautiful, if you could ignore the banality of familiarity.

The kitchens were down two floors, so they took the elevator, saving their already tired limbs from more of a workout.

“I don’t wanna pry,” Gladio began, not looking directly at Prompto, “But how much weight did you lose?”

Prompto chuckled. “Pretty personal for someone who doesn’t wanna pry,” He commented, a mischievous look in his purple-blue eyes and a wry smile. Gladio felt sweat bead at the nape of his neck, the playful attitude extremely attractive on such a soft, sweet face. “I was close to fourteen when I began working on it. I lost probably close to forty-five pounds by the end, though I’d put on muscle and stuff, and I was also going through a growth spurt at the time. By the time I was sixteen I was a hundred and fifteen pounds. Little underweight for my height, actually.”

“Wow,” Gladio said, trying to picture a young, chubby Prompto, but failing. “That’s pretty impressive. How’d you do it?”

“Running, changed my diet,” Prompto shrugged. “My parents are never home, so a lot of my eating habits were super bad. I ate fast food like, once a day, usually dinner, since I’d eat at school for breakfast and lunch.”

Gladio felt a pang of anger that Prompto had to go through a youth of neglect like that. Not even eating _breakfast_ with his family? Gladio had only begun eating at the Citadel in the mornings once he’d moved into his own place last year. He couldn’t imagine how lonely it must have been. Now he felt like an ass, complaining about his father.

“When I decided to become friends with Noct, I wanted to be the kind of guy that he could be proud to call a friend,” Prompto explained. “It… didn’t help that he kinda called me fat, once.”

Gladio’s head whipped around in shock at the statement. “He what?”

“Not, like, directly!” Prompto clarified, both hands up and waving. “I fell down, like a total loser, over my own feet basically, and when he tried to help me up, he couldn’t lift me.” Prompto was clearly embarrassed, hugging his arms around his waist, though Gladio wished he wouldn’t be. “He commented that I was heavy, and it made me feel really awful. But I didn’t hold it against him or anything! He was a string-bean and I was chunky. And don’t tell him it made me upset, I’ve never told him.”

“Prom,” Gladio gripped the shorter man’s shoulder in his hand, squeezing gently. “I’m sure Noct didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, or imply that you weren’t, like, worthy of his friendship.”

“I know that now,” Prompto smiled softly. “But back then, I was hypersensitive about stuff like that. I was lonely, I didn’t have any friends. I didn’t have loving parents. It was a rough time.”

Gladio wanted desperately to pull Prompto into a hug, but he knew that it might not be welcome given their relatively new closeness, so he settled for patting him on the back gently. “I’m glad you’ve got us, now. How did Noct react when you finally decided you were ready for him?”

“Haha, he totally called me out on pretending we’d never met before,” Prompto grinned. “But then he just acted like we’d been friends all along anyway.”

“Good,” Gladio said, proud of his Prince. “For once he didn’t act like a spoiled brat.”

“Harsh!” Prompto laughed.

The elevator dinged and released them to the Dining rooms, several groups of people sat together at various ends of the many long tables in the room. A door led to the kitchens at one end, where at least five of the Kitchen Staff were dishing up plates to waiting employees. Gladio steered them to the proper door to grab their food.

“Hey, so,” Gladio began, hesitant with shame, “I don’t wanna pressure you into eating what you’re not comfortable with, so please let me know if I’m pushing, at any time, okay?”

“Sure,” Prompto nodded. “Usually when we’re all together it’s my cheat day by design. That’s why it’s never really come up before.”

“Gotcha,” Gladio nodded.

“Hey, Gladio,” Prompto asked, quietly. “How come we’ve only ever been together for group hangs before?”

Gladio felt the guilt creep up his stomach again. He was not a good liar, preferring to be a straight-shooter, but in this case, he absolutely had to, to preserve his image and their friendship.

“I mean,” Prompto continued, “Even Ignis and I have gone out for coffee together once or twice... a week.”

“I can’t believe Iggy could find the time in his tightly wound schedule,” Gladio joked, trying to avoid the real conversation. When Prompto didn’t respond, Gladio finally looked down to see him slightly frowning. “It’s not you, Prom. I’m just - I’ve always got something going on, and with my dad, sometimes he puts a lot of pressure on me to keep up with the way he was at my age.”

“If I’m doing something that annoys you, I hope you’d tell me,” Prompto pressed.

“I’m serious, Prom,” Gladio insisted, his hand magnetized to constantly grip the shorter man’s shoulder, apparently. “It’s nothing you’ve done. I swear it. You are… amazingly fun to be around.”

Prompto blushed, but nodded. Gladio hoped that Prompto knew enough about him to know he meant whatever he swore. Gladio _wished_ there was something he didn’t like about him. It was hard to be around someone he was desperately attracted to without betraying that attraction that he was not supposed to indulge in. But that wasn’t Prompto’s fault, at all.

It was their turn to get their food, and Gladio loaded up on everything, needing a healthy amount of calories to keep his muscle. Prompto definitely favored the pancakes, but had a little bit of everything else except the bacon.

“If bacon ever passes my lips again, I will never stop eating it,” Prompto explained, eyes wide with dramatic solemnity. “It’s the most delicious part of any animal.”

“Agreed,” Gladio laughed and nodded, shoveling a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

They ate in companionable silence until Gladio noticed that it was five minutes to six.

“Shit, Prom, I gotta get to training,” He said apologetically. “But first I gotta see you out.”

“I am absolutely stuffed anyway,” Prompto patted his belly. “I’m also getting hella sleepy. I think I’m skipping class today and heading home to pass out. Don’t judge me.”

“I promise,” Gladio laughed. “Once I’m out of training, I’m heading home to do the same.” That, and book a hotel room for his exciting meet up tonight. He’d almost forgotten about it in all the companionship.

Gladio led them back up to the doors. Prompto shivered, his arms uncovered.

“Damn, after being inside, it’s cold out here!”

Gladio unzipped his hoodie. “Here, take this. I’ll be in the warmth until around noon anyway; it’ll be plenty sunny by the time I walk home.” Prompto took it with another rise of color to his cheeks, pulling it over himself and practically swimming in it. Gladio had to fight not to chuckle fondly. “While you’re napping, I hope you think of me and the torture I’m going through, working hard with no sleep and a full gut.”

“I think you’re gonna be okay, Big Guy,” Prompto laughed, patting his shoulder as he turned to jog home. “See ya later!”

Gladio didn’t know how much more of this he could take before he told Prompto how desperately he felt about him.

//~*~\\\

~~~~~  
**MercuryRising:** i have SUPER bad news  
**MercuryRising:** i hope you can get your deposit on the room back  
**MercuryRising:** because i fucking twisted my ankle today and unless you wanna carry me over to the hotel i’m not gonna make it tonight  
**MercuryRising:** ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡  
**MercuryRising:** gods i hope you get this message before you even get everything set up for us MercuryRising: I AM SO SORRY 人(_ _*)  
~~~~~

Gladio waited until he was walking home from the Citadel before checking the messages from BDM on his phone. Luckily, he had not yet reserved a room, but that was the least of his worries.

~~~~~  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Are you okay?  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Don’t worry about the room, I hadn’t gotten to it yet.  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Did you go to a doctor?  
**MercuryRising:** no but my friend is taking me over to see one, he’s trained in first aid but he can’t tell if something is really wrong or not  
**MercuryRising:** he says it’s probably gonna be fine but we’re still gonna make sure  
**MercuryRising:** i just wanted to let you know asap  
**MercuryRising:** again, i am SO SORRY (シ_ _)シ  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Please don’t be, I’m just glad you’re okay.  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Let me know later how you’re doing.  
**MercuryRising:** ok wow i will thanks for being so cool  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Not at all. What kinds of guys are you ‘Bating with if you think I’m going above and beyond?  
**MercuryRising:** lonely jerkoffs, obviously ┐(￣～￣)┌  
**MercuryRising:** still, thanks (ﾉ´ з `)ノ  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Talk with you later. Good luck.  
~~~~~

Gladio spent the evening puttering around his apartment, waiting for a message from Merc. He tidied up his kitchen, which he had sorely neglected the past few sleepless nights, and made himself a quick dinner before settling in front of the television. He debated whether or not to text Prompto to make another running date, not sure of how late he would be awake tonight with his supremely messed up sleep schedule from napping the whole afternoon. His eagerness to see Prompto won out.

**Gladio: Hey, Prom. Want to meet up again tomorrow? If you’re not too exhausted from today. Personally, I’m totally messed up, sleep-wise.**

When he received no answer after ten minutes, Gladio assumed that Prompto had simply slept the entire day away, and decided it was probably time for him to try to get to bed at a decent hour, even though he wasn’t tired.

He did a few light exercises before stripping down to his boxers and settled into bed, reading some news articles on his phone and praying for sleep.

As he settled, BDM chimed with a message from Merc, and Gladio sat up in bed, heart thrumming.

~~~~~  
**MercuryRising:** i lived! sorry it took so long to get back to you, it took forever to get seen by a doc and my phone died so i had to wait til it charged when i got back home  
**MercuryRising:** ankle isn't broken, so i just have to wrap it for a few weeks and i’ll be good to go (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ  
**MercuryRising:** it’s gonna wreak havoc on my exercise routine but i guess that’s life ┐(￣ヘ￣)┌  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Glad to hear you’re gonna be ok. I was just laying down to sleep, but I was hoping I’d hear something back before then.  
**MercuryRising:** oh! i’m sorry! i should’ve waited til tomorrow to message you  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** No worries, I wasn’t sleeping yet.  
**Mercury Rising:** ok cool, it’s just that we usually talk late at night so i figured you were kinda a night owl  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Only since I met you, haha.  
**MercuryRising:** sorry! but not really (￢‿￢ )  
**MercuryRising:** wanna bate? i’m really sad we couldn’t meet up tonight i was REALLY looking forward to it  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Yeah, if you’re up for it.  
**MercuryRising:** oh i am UP baby (￣ω￣)/  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Nice. >:)  
~~~~~

Using BDM on his phone was less than preferable, so Gladio grabbed his laptop from the side table drawer and used the client there. Accepting the video chat request, the screen showed Merc’s bare torso for the first time, the man clearly ready for bed just as Gladio was. Freckles dusted his well-toned chest, muscular in proportion to his slim form, with petal-pink nipples already peaked. His abs were lightly defined and his lower belly had spidery lines of stretch marks that framed his navel like parenthesis.

Gladio’s brow furrowed. A petite blonde with signs of major weight loss. Great at taking pictures. Surely it wasn’t… Prompto would never be on a service like this, would he? Had he ever seen Prompto show interest in anyone, much less dudes? He vaguely remembered the younger man flirting with one of the girls at the diner… or was that just Prompto’s natural charm at work?

“Hey, you there, babe?” Merc asked, hand slipping down his stomach, over those lines that threw everything into question, and under his boy-short style underwear. “I’m so fucking hard already and we haven’t even said anything. How are you this fuckable?”

Gladio couldn’t imagine Prompto saying such a thing, or really, any of the filthy things Merc had said over the past few chats.

“Yeah,” Gladio answered, not entirely sure if he should continue this without knowing whether or not he was talking to someone he actually knew and desired. “Yeah, I’m here. You, too.”

“Wish you were _here_ ,” Merc said, palming himself under the fabric of his shorts. “I was really, really looking forward to mouthing at that bulge, pushing my hands up under your shirt - don’t worry, I wouldn’t look. I just wanna feel that chest of yours.”

“Mmm,” Gladio replied, distracted. He was looking for any sign that this was his friend.

“That not doing it for you?” Merc asked. “Tell me what you want, babe.”

Gladio wanted a lot of things. He wanted to know if he had been jerking off with the object of his desire instead of a stand-in for the past two weeks. He wanted to be able to tell Prompto that he wanted more with him. He wanted to not be responsible for the lineage of a great family of protectors so he could just be himself without scrutiny.

“I’m not sure,” Gladio said, instead. “Keep going.”

“Okay,” Merc said, hesitation in his distorted voice. “I wanna slip your dick out of your underpants and drag my tongue up and around the head, play with your foreskin. Watch you arch when I press the tip of my tongue to your slit, and taste the first bead of come.”

“Shit,” Gladio groaned, his cock swelling with the imagery, his mind slowly releasing his anxiety over the situation. If it was Prompto, he could live out his fantasy. And it obviously wouldn’t matter to Prompto, if he was using a service to anonymously fuck around with guys all over Insomnia, hell, all over Eos. Justifying it to himself, he gave in.

“It’s kinda cute how quiet you are tonight,” Merc said, a smile in his tone. “I’m not gonna let you stay that way.” He adjusted his position, pushing his own underwear down over his leaking member.

“What I really, really want, is your fingers to open me up,” Merc continued. “But I guess I’m going to have to do that myself since we weren’t able to meet up. Maybe next time, you should punish me. I’ve been so bad, leaving you in the lurch and all.”

“I can do that,” Gladio grunted, easing his cock out of his underwear. “Lay you across my lap and redden that ass with my hand.”

“Mmmmm,” Merc moaned. “Yeah, that’s what I wanna hear.”

“Once I’m done, I’ll work you open,” Gladio added, finally letting his worries go. “Spread you open and eat you out until you’re screaming for me.”

“Fuck-!” Merc cried. “I want your fucking fingers so bad,” He moaned, ripping his underwear off his legs and lubing up his own digits. “They’re so thick and broad and long and god DAMN my stupid ankle, I could have been there with you right now!”

“All in good time, baby,” Gladio promised. “Spread yourself, yeah just like that.” He was practically drooling watching those pale thighs part and the pink pucker of his ass breached by thin fingers, two at the start. “I’m gonna make such a mess in you when we’re together.”

Merc cried out, no longer able to ignore his manhood. He gripped its length with a slippery hand and stroked himself furiously, Gladio reaching for his lube to do the same. For a few minutes, they pleasured themselves at a rough pace, their moans, grunts and heavy breathing urging them both toward climax. Gladio couldn’t help but picture the face above the body as Prompto’s and groaned as he spent, the thought of his friend sending him over the edge. He heard Merc’s sounds of completion shortly thereafter, and they both took a few moments to come down.

“Damn,” Merc laughed weakly. “Dude, we have GOT to make this work. I need to get my hands on you.”

“Yeah,” Gladio nodded, sleepy. “It’s getting harder to do this remote.”

“Let’s talk tomorrow,” Merc replied, a yawn on its heels. “I’m exhausted and I gotta go clean up before I can hit the bed.”

“Talk to you then, beautiful,” Gladio breathed, completely worn out and honestly wanting to jump out of this conversation, now that fear and guilt had time to settle in his gut again.

“G’night, Big Guy.” Merc’s video cut out, and Gladio groaned, throwing an arm over his face in anguish.

“Big Guy.” Prompto had called him that earlier today, when he left the Citadel. 

The next moment, Gladio’s phone chirped with a text message.

**Prom: hey sorry, my phone died and i wasn’t home  
Prom: afraid our morning runs will have to be postponed for a while, i screwed up my leg today :/ **

There was no denying it any longer. MercuryRising was definitely Prompto Argentum. And now Gladio had to decide what he was going to do about it.


	5. Vexation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompto struggles with his sprained ankle, but gets a lot of kindness from two men that might be Nine of Swords.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is all feelings and no smut, but we're rapidly approaching the end of the line...

Prompto finished off his sandwich while frowning down at his phone during his forty minute break between afternoon classes. He had once again checked his messages, waiting for Gladio to respond to his last one.

**promptobo: hey what’s that book you were telling me about again? the one with the elven wizard chick and her barbarian boyfriend guy?  
promptobo: i find myself with quite a bit of laying around time recently _:(´ཀ`」 ∠):_ **

It had been a couple of days since he’d sent it, and either Gladio had straight up ignored it or he meant to respond later and forgot. Prompto wrestled with whether or not to text him again, not wanting to appear overeager. This wasn’t that odd, really; it had happened a lot before they had begun tentatively spending more time together, so he thought maybe he should just let it go. 

Still, their Running Date had been really great; Gladio had said so many nice and supportive things, and that night he’d even invited Prompto to meet up again the next day. Gladio had sent a sympathetic text back when he had to decline due to his sprained ankle, noting that just the day before Prompto had “pulled a muscle slipping in the shower”, but after that… radio silence.

“Maybe he thinks I was blowing him off,” Prompto muttered to himself. He could be that way himself, when Noct had to cancel plans sometimes in favor of royalty business… taking it too personally and then avoiding his friend for a few days.

‘Fuck it,’ Prompto shrugged.

**promptobo: gladio! I’m bored. wish we could go on morning runs again. (╥﹏╥)**

Prompto cleared up his lunch, shoving all of his trash into the largest of the food packaging, and prepared to try to haul himself to his next class with plenty of time to spare, now that it took him twice the time to get there on crutches. Just as he had the walking aids underneath his armpits, his phone chimed. Fumbling with his pockets, he freed his phone and saw that Gladio had responded.

**big guy: Yeah, me too. After having some company, the morning run just isn’t as fun anymore.  
big guy: How long until you can get off the sticks? **

Prompto sighed with relief. Gladio didn’t seem annoyed or angry or cold at all, so it was, as usual, all in his head. 

**promptobo: doc says i gotta come back to check in two weeks, but it’s already feeling a lot better.  
promptobo: i’m doing my best to stay off it and ice it and all that jazz so i can get back to my normal routine again  
big guy: That’s good. Glad you’re taking care of yourself.  
promptobo: are you glad… -io?  
big guy: Ugh.  
big guy: I’ve got the day off tomorrow, should we try to set up a movie night with the guys or something? Though after that “quip” I probably should just stop talking to you altogether.  
promptobo: yeah i could use a little fun time with my fave dudes  
promptobo: and as IF you could stop talking to me, WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER BRO  
promptobo: i’ll call noct and you call iggy, ok?  
big guy: I’m on it. I’ll get back to you later. >_<; **

Feeling a lot more energetic, Prompto took off to his Art Appreciation lecture with a spring in his three legged step, getting there about ten minutes early and having the hall all to himself.

**promptobo: yo noct, gladio and i were thinking of getting the band back together  
mr nox fleuret: Can’t. Dad’s got something planned for tonight, sorry.  
promptobo: no don’t apologize! dang, your dad’s got some free time? right on!  
mr nox fleuret: Yeah, I’m pretty excited. It’s been like… eight months since we were able to do anything together that wasn’t some kind of royalty situation.  
promptobo: i’m happy for you dude. have fun and tell your dad i said hi and that he’s the coolest.  
mr nox fleuret: I’m not telling my dad you think he’s the coolest. But I’ll say hi for you. **

Knowing how hard it was to live without parents that had time to be around, Prompto dismissed the disappointment of Noct’s absence immediately. Any time Noct had to spend with his dad was precious, and Prompto was genuinely happy for him. Odds are, Gladio would strike out with Ignis, too, given that he usually planned time for himself when Noct was away with his father. That meant…

**big guy: Ignis is out. Specs is taking himself for a spa treatment.  
big guy: Should we crash? **

Prompto laughed aloud, covering his mouth when it echoed in the empty lecture hall.

**promptobo: i’d probably slip and actually break my other leg or some shit, so, no  
promptobo: good idea if you weren’t friends with a complete klutz  
big guy: Want me to carry you in?  
big guy: … Nevermind, the curse would probably cause me to slip and then crush you under me. **

A flush spread all the way to Prompto’s ears, thinking about Gladio “crushing” him.

He chuckled as he began to type a reply when suddenly, the door to the lecture hall opened loudly, startling him. He jumped nearly fully out of his seat, thankfully failing to slam his injured leg against the seats in front of him.

A large, well-built man with full sleeve tattoos and shocking blue hair had entered the room, looking around as though he’d lost something.

“Oh, hey,” The stranger said, a charming smile broadening his chiseled face. “Have you seen a messenger bag anywhere? My friend left it behind last period and he asked if I could come and get it for him.”

Prompto shook his head, somewhat unable to speak in the face of the build and beauty of the fellow student. Not only was he similarly built to Gladio, but his entire look was so very colorful and alternative. He had piercings in both ears, many times; as well as one through his septum and one in his left eyebrow. The closer he got, Prompto could see a dusting of dark hair across his jaw and chin, and his eyes widened.

If he just pictured a tight fitting long sleeved shirt on top of that beautifully inked body, it was a dead ringer for Nine of Swords! At least from the mouth down, since he’d never seen the rest in their various chats. If he was… damn. What a pull. 

“Man, how’d you sprain the leg?” Maybe-Nine asked, his white teeth straight and perfect in his enormous smile.

Prompto managed to shake his absorption off enough to respond. “I, uh, had a late night studying and tripped during a morning run,” Should he mention what he’d really been doing that night? As a hint?

“Sucks,” He commented. “I’m Gallus Traube.”

“Prompto,” he held out his hand to the taller man, leaning awkwardly from his seat. “Argentum.”

“Whoa, stay put bud, I’ll come to you,” Gallus slipped into the row and sat next to Prompto, offering his hand warmly. “Stuck in Art Appreciation with Profesor Cossus, huh? Rough break.”

“Yeah, my other classes conflicted,” Prompto explained, trying desperately to find some clue whether or not this was his Nine of Swords. “He’s not as bad as a lot of people say, though.”

“He and I didn’t get along,” Gallus shook his head. “But I _was_ always nodding off in class. So that’s probably on me.”

They shared a chuckle. Even if Gallus wasn’t Nine, he was still hopelessly attractive and warm and friendly and Prompto was _super_ into it. The final question… did Gallus like dudes?

“So what major are you in?” Gallus asked, leaning forward and twisting in his seat to really face Prompto. His green eyes were sincerely interested, and Prompto felt like he’d be swallowed up by his energy.

“Photography,” he answered, his heart thrumming with excitement. Any guy this gorgeous with this much attentiveness was bound to do irreparable damage to Prompto’s chill. “You?”

“Sculpture,” Gallus answered. Ah, that explained the physique. Lifting clay and wood and blocks of stone would be a lot less difficult if one was cut out of the same material. “So you’re probably in Muli’s morning Photo Lab, if you’re here now. Too bad, you and my buddy just missed out on meeting each other. He’s up there right now.”

“Small world,” Prompto nodded. Was this ‘buddy’ his boyfriend?

“Shit, I gotta get out of here before Cossus sees me,” Gallus jumped up from his seat. “I don’t want to get reamed out for trespassing. Oh!” Gallus hopped over two rows of seats, grabbing up the bag that he’d come in to find. “Nice.”

Prompto deflated a bit, wishing he could think of something to say to get a little more information, but he drew a blank. What could one possibly ask to find out if you’d masturbated together multiple times over the internet?

Gallus suddenly turned from the door and jogged back up the stairs toward Prompto, a disarming smile on his perfect face. “Can I see your notebook?”

“Sure?” Prompto handed over the small book, pen attached to the spiral ring holding the pages together.

Gallus quickly wrote something and handed it back. “Give me a call when class is out, I’ll come help you with your books and stuff. I’ll be right down the hall in the library, but when I’m reading I totally lose track of time.”

“No, you don’t have to-”

“C’mon, beautiful, what do I have to say to get you to let me help you out?”

Prompto flushed from chest to hairline, completely unaccustomed to gorgeous men hitting on him in real life. “O-okay,” Prompto stammered, punching the number into his phone. “I get out of this class in about an hour.”

“See you then,” Gallus smiled slyly, slinging the bag over his shoulder and darting out the back entrance as the other students of the class began to file in from the front.

//~*~\\\

Prompto and Gallus had walked together from the classroom to the bus stop, chatting about everything and nothing for about half an hour until it was time for Prompto’s bus to arrive. Gallus was funny and very interested in what Prompto had to say, which was odd because he didn’t think he was very interesting in general. It made it very difficult to ask Gallus any questions that might lead Prompto to be able to decide if he was Nine or not.

“Ah, the bus is here,” Prompto lamented when he saw the crowd begin to gather their things.

“Damn,” Gallus frowned. “Okay, tomorrow I’m bringing my bike and driving you home. Unless you’re not into motorcycles?”

“No, I like them,” Prompto blinked. What the hell kind of perfect stereotype was this dude? “I’m just not sure how we’d get my crutches there.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Gallus shrugged. “That or I’m gonna bring some bus fare so I can see you home.”

The crowd began to line up and board, so Gallus helped Prompto get his backpack on, pulling the straps securely around his shoulders and looking deep into Prompto’s eyes with his own, another hungry smile gracing his angular face. Gallus brushed a strand of hair that tickled at Prompto’s lips, his hand softly tracing along the contour of Prompto’s jaw.

“See you tomorrow, same time?”

“Y-yeah,” Prompto nodded, eyes unable to break free of Gallus’s. “Tomorrow.”

Once on the bus, Prompto let out a deep sigh, mostly relieved that he was no longer frozen like a deer in headlights because of a pair of glittering emerald eyes.

He opened his phone to find a new message from Gladio, and scolded himself when he realized they’d made plans for this evening. Prompto had just spent an hour and a half flirting instead of responding to Gladio’s previous messages.

**big guy: Sorry, it was just a joke. Obviously, I don’t think you’re cursed.**

‘We’ll see about that,’ Prompto thought.

**promptobo: sorry! i got to chatting with another student before class and forgot to reply. did you still want to hang out tonight?  
big guy: Sure, if you’re still down. Do you want to just grab dinner instead? I don’t want to keep you up late, rest is very important for healing.  
promptobo: i don’t think we have to baby me, but if that’s what you’d prefer, sure ヽ(￢_￢;)ノ  
big guy: Not babying. Caring for. -_- **

Between Gladio and Gallus, Prompto was overwhelmed by support and help from giant beautiful men. Maybe falling on his ass hadn’t been such a curse at all.

//~*~\\\

“Gladio, how long have you known about this?” Prompto asked, glaring at the larger man, but blinking with surprise when he seemed to choke on his grilled steak wrap. “Yo, you okay?”

Gladio nodded, though he continued to sputter. Prompto pushed Gladio’s drink toward him to encourage him to wash down some of the stuck food.

“Know about what?” Gladio asked around a cough. He looked… guilty? Somehow?

“About this food truck,” Prompto accused him. “These are the best godsdamn grill pressed wraps I’ve ever had in my life. And you’ve kept this from me?”

Gladio laughed, shaking his head. “Astrals, Prom, I thought you were accusing me of having some kind of dark secret or some shit.”

“Hmm,” Prompto’s brow shot up, a wicked smile on his face. “Then you _do_ have one, if you’re so worried!” He pointed half of his spicy chicken wrap at Gladio’s confused expression.

“I don’t-”

“Relax, Big Guy, I’m totally messing with you,” Prompto chuckled, biting into his dinner again. It was seriously the best thing he’d had since last week when Ignis had made them all dinner for the Friday night hangout. And if a food truck could compete with Iggy, that was something to be said. “So since our plans kinda fell through, what’re you gonna do for the rest of the night?”

“Probably finish my book,” Gladio shrugged. “Turn in early. I’ve been up late for the past few weeks on and off and it’s starting to mess with me. I need to get back to my routine.”

“How come?” Prompto asked around a mouthful, picking a stray onion that had been accidentally included in his wrap. “New Crownsguard stuff? Training late? Or do you have some kinda fling going on, huh?” Prompto hoped he didn’t, but then felt bad for wishing against Gladio’s happiness. 

“No,” Gladio answered, firmly. “Not a fling. Just, I don’t know, staying up for no reason in particular.”

“Okay,” Prompto backed off. “Just teasing. Man, did my stupid pun really put you in this bad of a mood?”

Gladio snorted a laugh, shaking his head.

“I’m probably gonna have an early night, too. I kinda… met someone today and we might be going out tomorrow night? I’m not really sure.”

“You’re not sure.” Gladio seemed unimpressed, and probably rightfully so. It wasn’t as if Gallus had actually asked him out, he just asked to help him get home and _gods_ it was so obvious now, Gallus just wanted to follow him home to fuck and that was going to be that. Prompto closed his eyes and sighed at his own stupidity.

“Well, yeah, now I’m actually convinced we’re not going _out_ ,” Prompto shrugged. “Probably more of a “stream some TV and chill” kind of thing, actually.”

“Is that what you’re looking for?” Gladio asked, arms folded on top of the table, his eyes intense.

“I dunno,” Prompto answered truthfully. “Could be fun. I’m only 18, this is the time I should be having fun, right? Sowing my oats, like you?”

Gladio seemed frustrated by the statement, his jaw moving with tension as if he was chewing on what words to say…

Like Nine had done the night they had agreed to meet in person.

Prompto watched as Gladio shifted, folding his hands together and fidgeting with his thumbs… picturing that movement through the cropped frame of an internet chat client...

“Yeah,” Gladio breathed, releasing his hands and leaning back, a more relaxed disposition. “You’re right. You’re young, and you should be having fun. You work hard and you’re responsible. You deserve whatever makes you happy.”

Prompto didn’t know how to respond, his mind reeling with the possibility that Gladio might be the one and only Nine of Swords, but equally disbelieving it could be true. Sure, they had the same build, the same stubbled jaw, the need to cover up tattoos (or in this case, one giant tattoo), and the same body language when thinking something over. But could Gladio really sign up for anonymous sex with men on the internet? It defied everything Prompto knew about the straight-laced, responsible, hard-working-

Shit. He was having the fun he deserved.

“I’m gonna head out,” Gladio grabbed their tray of garbage. “Lemme get you a cab home, ok? Don’t move.”

Prompto just watched him leave, tossing away their trash and then standing still, staring at his phone but not really, until he seemed to make a decision and began to make a call.

Prompto felt like something had broken in his chest, and he wasn’t sure if it was for himself or for Gladio.

//~*~\\\

~~~~~  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Hey, cutie.  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** You busy tonight?  
~~~~~

Prompto reached over to the nightstand as best he could with his iced ankle propped up on a mountain of pillows. Seeing the message from Nine jump started his heart, and he wasn’t completely sure what to do. Was this Gladio, or Gallus, or some other guy in Insomnia? Should he just invite Nine over and find out? What if it was Gladio, what would they do then? Break it off? Or give in to it?

~~~~~  
**MercuryRising:** yeah, i’m here. what’re you up to?  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Just lounging. I had a kind of rough day so I thought I’d see if my favorite ‘bate friend was around to take my mind off it.  
**MercuryRising:** oh no, what happened?  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Just a little kerfuffle with a friend. He and I had a… well, just a tense conversation.  
~~~~~

This could either be Gladio talking about their weird, intense, revealing conversation, or Gallus referring to a tiff between him and his photographer buddy. Prompto wavered over whether to pry to try to get more information or to give Nine what he wanted instead.

Prying won out.

~~~~~  
**MercuryRising:** that sucks  
**MercuryRising:** what about?  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** I’d rather not talk about that. I was looking more for a distraction.  
**MercuryRising:** fair  
~~~~~

Prompto chewed his lip. He could either play along and have another excellent long distance sex romp with Nine, or ask what he really wanted to ask and get an answer to whether this was Gladio, Gallus, or someone else entirely.

It was probably well beyond time to be brave.

~~~~~  
**MercuryRising:** let me ask you something  
**MercuryRising:** did we see each other today?  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Um, I don’t know? Did we?  
**MercuryRising:** i’m not sure. i think maybe i saw you, at least. maybe you don’t know you saw me.  
**N1ne_0f_Sw0rds:** Well, if you saw me, what do I look like?  
~~~~~

Prompto took a long, deep breath, gathering all the courage he could muster, and trying desperately not to wish too hard for one particular outcome, though he knew his heart was clinging desperately to the possibility.

~~~~~  
**MercuryRising:** well, either you’re tall, enormous, tattooed all over with these crazy sleeve tats, have blue hair but brown facial hair and about a thousand piercings, or…  
**MercuryRising:** you’re my really great friend, that i’m pretty much in love with, who has the kindest eyes and sexiest body and messy brown hair _and_ facial hair, and means more to me than this nonsensical chat client’s anonymity and some random blue-haired fuckboy i met six hours ago  
**MercuryRising:** or you’re neither of them and i am an insane person  
**MercuryRising:** Nine…?  
~~~~~


	6. Conjunction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio is on a mission.

Gladio desperately wanted to run through the streets of the Crown City to get to Prompto, just to shave off the few minutes it would take him to get to the underground garage and get in his vehicle. All of the things that Prompto had confessed - they needed to be addressed in person, not through some stupid cybersex app. So Gladio used his better judgement and hopped in his truck to make his way across town to an apartment he’d only been to once, when he’d dropped Noct off for a weekend.

His phone chimed over and over; whether it was from “Merc” or Prompto, he couldn’t say. He didn’t want to read what self deprecating things he was undoubtedly trying to spew or apologies he was making for the admission he had made. Gladio didn’t need to know any of it. All He needed was to make sure that Prompto knew that his feelings were returned, with no ambiguity.

It took six minutes to reach Prompto’s street - a back alley with very little space to park a smart car, let alone Gladio’s huge truck. He parked it as close to the building as he could, careless about the consequences. Let the Insomnian Traffic Cops give him a ticket.

The problem was, he didn’t remember which apartment was Prompto’s. He could just _call_ him, but he didn't want the first words between them to be directions.

The mailboxes weren’t any help, only three of them had been labeled, and he certainly did not want to go door to door waking up all of the neighbors. He retreated to the street, walking around the building, looking for some sign of life...

There. Top floor, back right side of the building. A light was on in one of the rooms. He had to take the chance that this was Prompto’s apartment.

Gladio took the stairs two at a time, quietly and quickly as he could. Finally he reached the door he suspected was the correct one and rapped softly on the solid surface, his heart hammering in his chest as footfalls grew closer.

He held his breath as the door opened, ready to burst inside and hold Prompto close, tell him everything-

An older man, maybe a few years senior to Gladio’s father, appeared behind the door, completely deflating all of Gladio's gusto.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” Gladio said quietly, “I thought I might find my friend here. I’m looking for the Argentums?”

“Only Argentum we’ve got is that college kid on four,” The old man said, eyeing Gladio suspiciously. “Number thirteen.”

“Thank you, sir,” Gladio nodded a slight bow as he retreated and slipped swiftly toward the stairs, back down two floors. 

He crept through the hall to the back of the building, a somber grey door adorned with chipped metal numbers labeling it the correct number. The shaky anticipation at the upstairs apartment door had left him; now the pulse inside him was a gentle storm, waves crashing around his ribcage, his tumultuous energy swaying inside him, pulling him toward Prompto.

Gladio knocked, only just now remembering to give Prompto plenty of time to get up from wherever he was and get on his crutches to answer.

The soft thump of crutches on carpet grew behind the door, and Gladio braced himself, trying to calm the surging tide inside him.

The door opened slowly, Prompto leaning heavily on his walking aids, a hollowness under his eyes, his pink lips parted in surprise.

“Prom,” Gladio began, ushering himself inside, closing the door swiftly behind him as he lifted Prompto off the floor, the crutches dropping loudly as they collided with the coffee table and the floor.

Instead of saying anything, Gladio kissed him. It was as gentle as he could make it with the force of his passion behind it. A soft but firm press of lips, a fraction of what he wanted to give, but a hesitation that was necessary. He slowly backed off, giving Prompto room to reject it, but those hungry, sweet lips chased his own and they were kissing again.

Gladio didn’t hold back any longer.

All of the desire he’d ever had for Prompto poured out of him, months of watching and wanting and denying shivering free as they rocked together, both clinging desperately and trying to touch every inch of each other.

Prompto pulled away from the kiss to breathe Gladio’s name across his mouth, long fingers tugging brown hair at the nape, drowsy purple eyes aching down at him from his vantage slightly above.

“Prompto,” Gladio began, voice rough with the tightness in his throat. “I…” He struggled to voice all that he was feeling - the joy that Prompto felt the same as he did, the sorrow that he’d tried to distance himself from him for so long, the ache that smoldered in his stomach and the worry that all of this could be destroyed, because of the family and responsibility he had been born into, and what that meant for their future-

But Prompto stopped him with a warm, kind hand on his cheek and a delicate, reverent kiss.

“I’m so glad it was you,” Prompto whispered into his mouth, delving back in to sear another scorching, biting kiss. “We don’t have to make any promises, okay? I know what you’re dealing with-”

“Prom,” Gladio bit his lip, pressing their foreheads together. “I want to give you what I can. It might be different in the future, but right now-”

“I’ll take whatever I can get of you,” Prompto smiled, fondly and then with mischief. “Now take me to my room already.”

Gladio grinned back at him, hands gripping Prompto’s behind as he did as asked.

They stumbled down the hall, each one of them trying to tease the other with such intensity that Gladio was having a hard time holding their balance. Luckily, pinning Prompto to the wall every now and then during the journey seemed to hit just the right note, and by the time Gladio threw him down on the grey-sheeted bed he had seen across the screen, they were both panting and clawing at each other’s clothes.

“Finally, I’ve got you where I want you,” Prompto smirked, hands working at the waistband of Gladio’s jeans.

Gladio laughed as he struggled out of his shirt, looming over the blonde laying in disarray on the bed. “Yeah, you sure have the upper hand,” He brushed the fumbling digits away and popped the button of his jeans free and ripping the zipper open, his swollen manhood begging to be released. “How’s that ankle of yours again?”

“This?” Prompto waved a hand at the bandaged limb.”All a ruse to get your sympathy,” Prompto held his chin high in defiance of Gladio’s condescension. “Just wait until you get down here, then we’ll see who’s driving.”

“Mmm-hmm,” Gladio hummed, grabbing the waist of Prompto’s pajama bottoms and jerking them off in half a breath, revealing a pair of boyshorts hugging the shape of Prompto’s excitement. Kneeling, Gladio dove to press his face against the jut of Prompto’s hip bone just above the waistband, nipping softly with his teeth and sucking marks across his skin, just as he once promised to do.

Prompto hooked a leg over Gladio’s shoulder, vocalizing his pleasure as he threw his head back in an effort to keep himself grounded, breathing deeply to calm himself.

Gladio wasn’t going to let him get away with that. His strong grip kneaded the length trapped within Prompto’s underwear, drawing the head up and out of the waistband, the tip dark pink and weeping. He kissed his way from hip bone to navel, just above Prompto’s desire, teasing at the dip in his stomach with his tongue, lips brushing over the pale streaks that had given his identity away.

“Gladio!” Prompto begged, arching his hips up to encourage him to give attention to his throbbing length.

“Seems like you’re not as in control as you claimed,” Gladio remarked, smirking as he slipped the shorts down to Prompto’s thighs and nosed at his cock.

“Fuck… you,” Prompto gasped.

“You bet,” Gladio promised, and swallowed Prompto down in one stroke.

Prompto screamed, balling a fist in his mouth to silence himself as he arched his back against the bed, clawing the sheet under him as Gladio began a relentless campaign of suction, a soft scrape of teeth and onslaught of tongue to the tip of his manhood.

Prompto shuddered above him, trying to withstand the torturous mouth that consumed him, toes curling as he grew closer and closer to release.

“Gladio, Gladio stop-!” Prompto begged.

Gladio released Prompto with a wet slurp, hand still on the base of him. “Gonna blow?”

“Yeah,” Prompto nodded, trying to catch his breath. “I wanna come together.”

“That might not take long,” Gladio admitted. “I’ve been thinking about this for months, I’m ready to pop.”

Prompto urged Gladio up onto the bed to lay next to him, easing his leg off Gladio’s shoulder and down to twine with his strong thighs. Their cocks pressed together, the fabric of Gladio’s boxer briefs between them, as Prompto’s hands wandered over Gladio’s abdomen and down to cup the bulge between his legs.

“Are you gonna be able to make it through getting me prepped for this monster?” Prompto chuckled softly, easing his hand down the shaft and testing the weight of Gladio’s balls.

Gladio grunted. “Yeah, I think I can handle that,” he pressed a firm kiss to Prompto’s sweaty forehead. “Where’s your stuff?”

Prompto propped himself up on his elbows, leaving Gladio’s length aching for his touch, as he reached behind the bed to a small bag of dildos, lube, and condoms.

“Good thing I grabbed these the day we were supposed to meet up,” Prompto commented, handing Gladio a large-sized condom. “My tiny dick doesn’t need them, but I doubt we’d comfortably squeeze yours into my size.”

“Your dick is far from tiny,” Gladio raised an eyebrow. “It’s a little _more_ than proportional to your general size. You can’t help being a shrimp.”

“Shrimp, huh?” Prompto raised an eyebrow right back at him. “Well, I suppose it has its advantages. Gotta say, I like being picked up like I weigh absolutely nothing.”

“I like it, too,” Gladio smiled, pushing him over onto his back and then slipping an arm underneath the slight man to roll him on top of Gladio’s abdomen. Prompto’s legs spread around Gladio’s hips as their fronts pressed together, the pressure of their pelvises squeezing their cocks together and startling a gasp out of both of them. They kissed lazily, Prompto’s arms holding up the weight of his chest off of Gladio.

“Come on, Big Guy,” Prompto smiled, pulling away from the kiss. “It’s gonna take some work to get you to fit.”

Gladio groaned, a sharp pulse shooting through his cock as Prompto rolled his hips. He rolled back onto his side, easing Prompto over to lay back to front with him, one arm over Prompto’s shoulder to hold him close across the chest, keeping them pressed together as he began to work a lubed-up finger around the ring of muscle between Prompto’s pert cheeks.

Prompto had a difficult time keeping quiet, but he explained that the walls here were thin and he had already gotten complaints from their ‘bate sessions this past month. Gladio did his best to pull sounds from him despite the warning. It wasn’t long until Gladio had three thick fingers inside him, angling toward the bundle of nerves that made Prompto shudder and gasp.

“Gods, Gladio,” Prompto pleaded through rough breaths, “I’m ready - just fucking fuck me!”

“Knew I’d have you begging for it,” Gladio grinned, slipping his fingers free gently before giving him a sharp slap to the backside, startling a yelp from him, followed by a pleased moan.

Gladio awkwardly ripped the condom open with one arm still around Prompto, and rolled it on as quickly as he could manage. Prompto leaned forward, trying to get on his stomach, so Gladio slipped his arm free and followed the rolling motion, his very eager manhood nestled in the cleft of Prompto’s ass as he kneeled behind.

Gladio lined up the head of his cock to Prompto’s wet, relaxed pucker, just pressing against it.

“All right,” He warned, and then slowly pushed forward, Prompto’s body so eager that there was no resistance at all, and Gladio almost shouted as he slipped home in one long, perfect thrust. Prompto was snug and warm and quivering around him, and Gladio thought he might release actual tears, he was so achingly deep within him. “Fuck, Prom, you feel so fucking good.”

“Oh, my gods, you too, Gladio,” Prompto was shaking, his thighs quivering against Gladio’s as he tried to hold himself up. “But babe, you have _got_ to move. You’re killin’ me, here.”

Gladio nodded, sweat pouring off of him as he held himself still. “I know, but I just, wanna feel you… for a second.”

Prompto let out a high cry as Gladio eased them both back, Prompto sitting on Gladio’s lap as he surged deeper, his freckled back arched against Gladio’s muscled pecs.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck-!” Prompto gasped. “I’m not gonna last, Gladio.”

“I’ve got you,” Gladio promised. “Just hold on.”

With one hand on Prompto’s chest, keeping them together, Gladio thrust.

Prompto’s hand flew to his mouth to hold back the scream as he was pierced so sweetly and thoroughly, his cock spurting a small amount of precome.

Gladio thrust again, harder, sharper, trying his best to keep a slow pace as he balanced precariously on one hand as he leaned back. It was the hardest thing he’d ever done, keeping himself from simply driving deeper and harder, but within moments Prompto was urging him on with thrusts of his own.

Prompto folded, getting back down on hands and knees, surging back with Gladio’s forward thrust.

“Just fucking wreck me, Gladio!” He demanded, bouncing his ass against Gladio’s hips, quickening their pace, and Gladio acquiesced, his broad hands slipping around Prompto’s narrow hips and slamming them together with all the force he could muster.

Prompto pressed his face into the bed and screamed, letting Gladio drive. The curve of Prompto’s spine as he bowed under him, the sweat beading along his freckled skin, and the agonizing view of Gladio’s massive cock disappearing inside that tight pink hole brought him crashing toward climax. Gladio reached down to tug Prompto along with him, and with a shout, he released just as the wet spurt of Prompto’s orgasm spilled over his hand.

They both collapsed to the bed, roughly, drawing hard breaths as they came back down, Gladio slipping gingerly from Prompto’s body. Prompto lay half on Gladio, one arm thrown over his eyes as he panted, his blond hair stuck to his face in disarray.

“Damn,” Prompto breathed, peeking up from under his arm. “You were right. You’re just a little bit bigger than that dildo.”

Gladio grunted as his cock twitched in interest, far too soon. “Easy, Prom. I’m still coming down, here.”

“Sorry,” Prompto laughed. “Still. Damn.”

Gladio drew Prompto to him, rolling them together to press heated chest to sweat-slicked side, hands tracing down the bumps of Prompto’s spine as they finally calmed.

“You’re gonna stay, right?” Prompto sighed, sleepily.

“Of course,” Gladio murmured.

“We should go clean up, then,” Prompto raised up to his elbows. “I can’t sleep when I’m sticky.”

“Yeah,” Gladio agreed, though he did not particularly want to get up at all.

After a languorous shower, with wandering, soapy hands, they returned to Prompto’s bed and tucked together for a satisfying, deep sleep. For a couple of hours, anyway.

//~*~\\\ 

“You know, we could go _out_ for breakfast,” Gladio said, one eyebrow raised as he watched Prompto search his cabinets while balancing against the counter, his injured foot lifted from the floor.

“I guess,” Prompto sighed. “I just don’t particularly want to share you right now.”

Gladio grinned, rising from the sofa to press himself all along Prompto’s back, hands gripping his hips, lips teasing at his ear. “I know the feeling. But we’ll have to leave here sometime. I’m due for training tomorrow morning. They’ll definitely notice if I’m not there. I don’t know if you know, but I’m a pretty big deal in the Crownsguard.”

Prompto snorted. “Yeah, so I’ve heard.” He turned in Gladio’s arms, pressing his soft mouth to the edge of Gladio’s. “Big destiny over here.”

They kissed gently, neither wishing to get into anything more serious, even though they knew that a discussion would have to come at some point. Gladio wasn’t sure if he was ready to denounce his responsibility to furthering his family line just yet; this was too new. But he did know that this relationship would be a big, important part of his life, and wherever it led, they’d figure it out, together.

“So, should we go out?” Gladio asked, once they’d parted. “I don’t know about you, but I get pretty ravenous after an all-nighter.”

“Yeah, I could really go for something substantial,” Prompto nodded. “I’m thinking... breakfast burritos. Sausage, eggs… mushrooms and onions. Cheese. Hot sauce.”

“Okay, okay,” Gladio laughed. “Let’s get going then.”

They made their way down to Gladio’s truck, and sure enough, there was a boot on the tire and a ticket under the windshield wiper.

Prompto laughed, long and hard, leaning heavily on his crutches while Gladio just shrugged. “It was worth it,” He smiled, and grabbed the chortling blond up to piggyback him to their breakfast.


End file.
